


smart and talented and astonishing

by Musetotheworld



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Mutual Pining, fake!dating, unsupportive parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 15:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17831105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musetotheworld/pseuds/Musetotheworld
Summary: Alura doesn't like Alex. Kara isn't going to let that stand.





	smart and talented and astonishing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fictorium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictorium/gifts).



> Happy Birthday Lola! This is later than I'd like but the first idea ran into a block so have this instead!

At first everyone is too busy fighting Reign there’s no chance for Kara to notice anything is off. Then there’s the cleanup and recovery steps, then the mourning for lost life and rebuilding of hope for the future. With no one else to say the prayers Alura and Kara take up the task together. For all the harm Selena and her followers caused they were still children of Rao and still deserved a chance to find redemption in His light. Their families deserve hope that one day they can be reunited, if nothing else.

Kara had invited Sam to join them, but it had been too much. Too Kryptonian when she was still struggling to find peace with her newfound lineage and the pain it had caused her. And Kara had been hesitant to push after all she’d been through. No need to put her through even more.

Even after that there’s mother/daughter bonding time and catching up on too many lost years. Time for Alura and Kara to rebuild a relationship from scratch. New and old memories to be shared and decades of pain to be soothed. It’s not an easy task, nor a quick one.

It takes long enough that Kara doesn’t notice Alura avoiding Alex for nearly two months. Mother night and sister night had been deliberately separate, allowing everyone to adjust to a changed family dynamic.

But when half formed plans to spend time with mother and sister both are constantly derailed by issues popping up from nowhere Kara finally puts the pieces together. The first hug when Alura met Alex was the first and only time the two had been near one another. Since then, nothing. And it doesn’t take Kara long to realize why.

“Who told you?” she asks Alura the next time they’re alone. Originally Kara had planned a movie night, but this talk can’t wait. “Who told you about Alex?”

“No one told me,” Alura says quietly, slowly. Weighing her words the way she had on Krypton when her word was law. “It wasn’t hard to piece together. And I know she is a sister to you, Kara. I know her family saved you. But there are things I cannot ignore.”

The words send Kara to her feet, pacing restlessly in front of the couch where they’d been sitting as she tries to settle herself. She’d thought they were past this, past the effects of Alex’s choice on her life. Her sister is a soldier and in that moment she’d done what she felt was necessary. It hurt, it would always hurt, but Kara was good at moving past the pain. And over the years she’d come to understand and forgive Alex’s actions. She knew Astra would have done the same were their positions reversed. They were soldiers defending their own. If she could accept that why couldn’t Alura, who hadn’t known Astra made it to Earth at all?

“You can’t ignore?” Kara manages to grit out, turning sharply on her heel as if still in her suit. “You ignored the possibility I survived for over thirty years, why is this harder?”

“We saw you enter the Phantom Zone, how could we know you’d ever break free?” Alura begins to protest, but Kara cuts her off.

“And yet I did break free, and I grew up without you.” It’s a struggle to remain calm but Kara knows she’ll be more convincing if she does. If her arguments are measured and clear, appealing to the logical and rational side of her mother’s training. “And while I was growing up Alex was the biggest reason I managed to find a home here. Will you judge her for a split second decision? Astra was my aunt, and Alex is my sister. If I can forgive then so can you.”

The look of shock on Alura’s face is the only hint Kara might have misread the situation. She’d expected an argument, or denial, at best a promise to consider Kara’s words. Not a look of total disbelief as if she were hearing something for the first time.

“Astra would never,” Alura finally says, and it’s Kara’s turn to look confused. “For all the mistakes she made Astra would never betray Rao’s commands in such a way.”

“What commands?” Kara asks, trying to understand what’s going on. “Astra tried to revive Myriad on Earth and Alex had to stop her. She didn’t get a chance to change her mind and stop the program but nothing she did on Earth was different than her crimes on Krypton.”

Kara knows she’s simplifying months of internal and external conflict down to a few sentences. But she needs Alura to understand. And more than that she still needs to understand what prompted her mother’s negative reaction towards Alex if not what happened to Astra. They’re both her family and Kara never wants to face a situation where she’s forced to choose between them. Not after so many losses already in her life.

“I’m sorry, Kara. I’m afraid I misunderstood you,” Alura says when she looks up to see the confusion on her daughter’s face. “Perhaps I judged too quickly and should take some time to reconsider my conclusions.”

Kara wants to be relieved, wants to believe that’s the end of this. Alura will get more information and realize she’d been mistaken. But Kara still isn’t sure exactly what she’d been mistaken about and the distant tone of her mother’s words doesn’t inspire much confidence.

“Or maybe we should talk about those conclusions now,” she pushes. It feels wrong to question a Kryptonian elder but Kara isn’t a child any longer. She’s an adult by Earth and Kryptonian standards both. And this is her _ family. _ She has a right to know what’s going on.

“Kara, I-” Alura begins, cutting herself off with a deep breath. “Perhaps you’re right. We should discuss this. I should explain myself.”

Kara nods slowly before sinking back down next to her mother. “What did you think I meant, with Alex and Astra?” she asks, feeling that will answer the most questions.

“I assumed, based on what I know of your sister and her relationship with Sam and what I believed we were speaking of, that your words insinuated a...physical or romantic attraction between them,” Alura says carefully, back to measuring each word. “That is why I was so surprised, as Astra was bonded in the eyes of Rao and such a union would be twice forbidden.”

It takes a moment for Alura’s meaning but when it does only shock keeps Kara in her seat. Her mother thought Astra and Alex had been involved and that Alex was now with Sam. And she disapproved of that fact not just because Astra had been bonded to Non. She also disapproved because Alex was a woman.

And that hurt more than Kara would have expected. Both reasons did. Astra’s marriage to Non was a shell long before she’d met Alex, and if anything had happened between them Kara wants to believe it would’ve made both her aunt and sister happy. She’d never had reason to consider the possibility before this but now that it’s been brought up she can’t deny the similarities between them.

Even without anything happening between them Kara knows Alura is still judging Alex for being interested in women. How her mother knows about that is still a mystery given Alex isn’t actually with Sam, but that doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is standing up for her sister. After watching Alex struggle so much with this one Kara won’t stand by and let anyone judge her. Not even a mother she’d only recently thought lost forever.

Fainter, buried beneath the anger on Alex’s behalf, is a stirring of fear as Kara remembers her own occasional attractions to the women around her. She’d never really explored them, first because that was still ‘different’ and later to avoid taking yet another thing from Alex. But the feelings were there and had been for many years.

That fear prompts her to act, and the anger keeps her from thinking too much about what she’s saying. If Alura can’t accept this, can’t accept her, then it might break Kara. But having her around and never knowing could do so much worse.

“Rao guides us and gives us life,” Kara begins, needing to acknowledge that first. “But that doesn’t mean the love Alex feels for the women she shares part of her life with is wrong. Alex isn’t even a follower of Rao or his teachings. She isn’t one of his children. And she’s not wrong for finding happiness with whoever she chooses, and neither am I.”

Words have been Alura’s weapons for too long for her to miss the deeper meaning behind Kara’s statement. As a reporter Kara has learned to wield them as well, and she’d just thrown down a challenge for her mother. Accept the fact Kara loves a woman, and by extension accept Alex, or risk pushing away her only daughter and last living relative. Kara was hoping their family bond would be enough.

It’s at least enough to stun Alura into silence once more as she processes, and Kara takes the opportunity to expand on her emotions. She speaks of realizing her attraction, of how long it had taken to build the courage to accept it. She tells Alura stories about the woman she loves, the busy woman who lived too far to see often during a time of crisis like they’d just been through. Anything and everything she can think of that might challenge Alura’s belief that such love is somehow against Rao’s will and favor.

WHen it looks like Alura has finally caught up to what Kara is saying she stops speaking to shift closer to her mother. She’s still afraid of what comes next, but Kara knows the importance of hope. It’s what’s kept her going this long. Sometimes it’s the only thing outside her unending sense of duty that keeps her on her feet. This is no different even if it’s a mother’s approval and not an enemy’s blow.

“I will need time to think,” Alura says when Kara moves, reaching out to grab Kara’s hand in a desperate grip. “I don’t, this is all so much to take in, Kara. I need to adjust. But no matter what, you will always be my daughter and I will always love you.”

It isn’t quite the resounding support Kara would prefer, but she knows it’s better than nothing. And she has to admit, this is a lot to take in.

“I love you too,” Kara says as she leans into a hug. After years apart she isn’t going to turn the comfort away. Not while there’s still hope she can change her mother’s mind.

“Why don’t you go visit this suitor of yours,” Alura says when the hug ends. “I know you’ve been too busy helping me settle in to travel to their side, but tonight would be a good time. I can use the quiet to think, and you can catch up with this woman who has earned your love. And perhaps soon I can meet her as well.”

Only the fact Alura is distracted by the recent revelations keeps the usually sharp adjudicator from spotting the sudden tension in Kara’s frame before she can make herself relax. The last thing she needs is for her mother to start asking questions before Kara can think up an actual plan.

“You know, that sounds like a great idea,” she blurts out, wincing a little at how  _ obvious  _ she sounds. Honestly, she just wants out of here before things get awkward. “I’ll just...go, then, yeah?”

“We can get breakfast tomorrow,” Alura offers, clearly trying to smooth over any lingering discomfort. “Or lunch, perhaps? If you won’t have time before work?”

It’s a good sign that her hopes aren’t completely unfounded. Alura is at least trying, and Kara can work with that. “I would love either of those.”

Their goodbyes are quicker than usual, but it’s another five minutes before Kara is airborne. It’s still too hard to break apart even with growing proof these goodbyes won’t be forever.

As soon as she’s far enough away that Alura won’t hear her Kara is calling Alex. The whole situation is a bit much, but Alex will know what to do. She always does.

Kara’s back to pacing as she lands in Alex’s living room, the story pouring out of her as she moves. Alex, long familiar with Kara’s dramatics, sits calmly and listens as she waits for the end of the recitation.

“So you got upset that your mom has a problem with me being a lesbian because she thinks I’m with Sam and decided pretending you were in a relationship with a woman was the way to go?” Alex sounds torn between sympathetic and amused, and Kara flops down on the couch with a groan and a nod. That about sums it up. She’s definitely going to need more practice on coming up with cover stories or excuses on the fly.

“And she wants to meet them, Alex. My mother wants to meet my girlfriend, the girlfriend I don’t actually have.” Lots and lots of practice…

“Well, how serious is it supposed to be?” Alex asks, moving into her take charge and fix it mode. “You said something about this girlfriend of yours being busy somewhere distant, right? What about asking Lucy for help?”

Kara brightens at the idea for a second before shaking her head. “I told my mom she wasn’t with the DEO, even if Lucy pretends she’s still got that military bearing under pressure.”

“What about Clark? Does he have someone he can trust what would pretend to date Kara Danvers?”

“I think it needs to be someone who either knows my secret or someone I can tell,” Kara says, shooting that idea down as well. “My mom called her my ‘suitor/ and that’s not a casual term for Kryptonians. That’s like, a step before engaged.”

Kara has an idea of who might fit, of who she wants to fit, but she knows Alex would never approve. It’s far, far too risky. And yet Kara can’t help withins it were possible. 

Whether because she isn’t distracted or because she knows Kara’s tells after years of practice, Alex immediately notices something is up. With a quick push to sit leaning forward and looking at Kara intently the way her mind works through the possibilities is almost visible. As is the moment it clicks.

“Kara, there’s no way that would work,” Alex says, already shaking her head. “Even if she’s not currently the Queen of All Media she’s still the freaking Press Secretary!”

“And she hasn’t told anyone about Olivia,” Kara argues. “Honestly Alex, I think Cat already knows. And I trust her.”

“Not what I mean, of course she already knows.” Alex sounds completely sure and Kara can’t help the look of shock on her face. “You’ve saved the world with her  _ twice, _ Kara. The woman’s going to notice eventually. But it’s not exactly possible to secretly date such a public figure.”

Oh. That hadn’t been the argument Kara was expecting. Or the reaction to Cat knowing in the first place.

“I have abilities that let me evade most forms of human tracking technology if I move fast enough,” Kara points out once she’s refocused. “I could definitely be stealthy enough to pull it off.”

Alex barely manages to hold back her reaction to Kara’s statement, earning a faint glare in return. Okay, so maybe she isn’t the greatest at subtlety and discretion but this is different. This is a few clandestine visits and a cover story. She doesn’t have to put on an Oscar worthy performance, and there’s definitely a time limit.

She just has to convince Alura that it’s serious and enough to make her happy and hope that’s enough to change her views on the matter. Once she accepts Kara and Cat together, and by extension Alex and Sam, the charade can end. And if she doesn’t come around then there’s no need to keep pretending. Both ways they can stage a break up and call things off after a few weeks.

Really, Kara thinks it’s a great plan. It can definitely work, especially if Cat is involved in the planning.

The only real stumbling block would be getting Cat to go along with it.

“I still think it’s too risky. The press watches her every move depending on what the big story in Washington is, which means they doubly watch her if there’s any rumor about potential romance.” Alex sounds certain, but Kara isn’t convinced. Cat is a master at keeping her private life out of the news. This wouldn’t be any different, and might even be easier given the fake nature of the relationship.

Apparently her disagreement is visibly and Alex sighs in defeat before slumping back into her seat. “At least promise you’ll be careful,” she says, running a hand through her hair with a resigned look sent Kara’s way. “I appreciate you leaping to my defense, but convincing your mother to like me is not worth giving up your secret identity and safety.”

“It’s not just about that, though it  _ would  _ be worth the risk if it was. No one should be judged because of who they love, especially not you and especially not by my mother.” Kara isn’t sure how much more she wants to say, but ultimately Alex deserves the full story. She’d held back for so long in an attempt to leave something that can be Alex’s alone, but maybe it isn’t fair to either of them anymore. “What if I ever did fall for a woman, Alex? It hasn’t happened yet but I can’t say it never will, or that I’ve never felt that pull. So what happens then?”

Alex takes the news, the half admission and declaration, with a surprising level of calm. There’s only a single quirked brow that gives away any surprise, the rest of her reaction nothing but warmly supportive.

“So how long have you ‘felt that pull’ towards Cat?” she teases gently, smiling when Kara splutters in response. “Oh come on, Kara. You just shot down every possible argument I could make to insist you could totally date her. I’ve known you had a hero crush on her for years, it was not hard to put the pieces together once you admitted you’ve been attracted to women before.”

“It’s just a crush,” Kara says quickly, looking away from her sister to study something on the opposite wall. “A stupid crush that’s under control. It doesn’t change the fact Cat is definitely the best option for this plan. You know anyone else wouldn’t be familiar enough  _ and  _ quick enough to keep my mom from realizing something is wrong.”

“I think you’re rationalizing, but fine. You’d better call her before Alura schedules a cross country flight and you’re stuck explaining to Cat the day of.”

Alex has a point, Kara knows she does. And it’s only 11 in D.C. which is plenty early to make a phone call to Cat. If it’s Carter’s weekend with his father she might still be hard at work whether she’s in office or at home. And if Carter is there she’s definitely home given how quiet Washington’s been lately, but she’s probably not working. At least not seriously so.

“Can I, um, can I make the call from here?” Kara asks, taking a deep breath to calm her sudden nerves. “I’d go home, but my mom’s apartment is so close she might hear me.” True, Alura has a lot better control over her powers these days. But Kara hasn’t forgotten being scolded for letting out a Kryptonian curse word after burning her dinner despite her mother being two buildings down.

“Ugh, fine,” Alex whines, but Kara can tell she’s only faking. “But do it over there so I only have to hear your side of it.”

It takes Kara approximately two seconds to type the number into her phone, and another minute and a half before she can press connect. She’s been in fairly close contact with Cat over the months as various situations call for, but this is something else entirely. All her early confidence has fled somewhere, and Kara has just decided to hang up when Cat answers.

“Kara, you have impeccable timing. I’m reading over the news clippings for the evening edition and was halfway to drafting an email to Fox.” Despite the situation Kara can’t help smiling at the familiarity. She remembers the one time Cat had actually said something to a reporter, and how she’d complained when Olivia took her to task for it.

“Freedom of the press,” she reminds Cat with a smile. “Besides, I know the piece you’re talking about and there’s word of a rebuttal already in progress from a news source that’s far less biased.”

“Oh thank God,” Cat says, just the right side of too much in that oh so familiar way. “That should save me an hour long lecture from Olivia, which means I have plenty of time to handle whatever emergency has you calling this late on a Thursday night.”

“I-there’s no emergency,” Kara tries, wincing a little as Alex shoots a look her way that perfectly matches Cat’s disbelieving hum in her ear. “Okay, so there’s a...situation? But it’s not an emergency.”

“Well that clears things right up, now doesn’t it,” Cat teases. “Why don’t you shed some light on this situation of yours?”

The banter is familiar, and between that and a stern reminder to herself that she’s a near invulnerable alien superhero Kara manages to find the threads of her composure.

“Well, I was talking to my mother earlier-”

“Mother? Not foster mother? You were very definitive on the difference the last times you’ve mentioned her, has something changed?” Of course Cat would latch on to the detail, and of course she’d remember specifics. That derails all of Kara’s planned speech. She’d been planning to bring up Alura’s survival after she got to the whole Supergirl bit. And she’d been saving both for after she explained the situation and Cat had the chance to either go along with it or tell her she was ridiculous and hang up.

“Oh, no. Um, actually it turns out my birth mother survived the um...the fire?” Kara asks more than answers, turning her back on Alex so she doesn’t have to see whatever her reaction is.

“You don’t seem sure of yourself,” Cat says, voice all too knowing. “So why don’t you try that again, and remember I can only help if I know what’s going on.”

“Not my foster mother. My birth mother. It turns out she and a small portion of my city escaped when Krypton exploded.” Kara holds her breath after the words are out, and she can tell Alex is doing the same behind her. It’s out there now, officially. No matter what they’ve assumed Cat does or does not know over the years she now has confirmation.

“Kara, that’s amazing. Are there others on Earth, or is it just her for now?” There’s no surprise or condemnation in Cat’s voice, just genuine happiness and perhaps a touch of smugness at finally being proven right.

“So far it’s just her, well her and then one other now that she’s not being possessed by Reign anymore,” Kara rambles, relief that Cat isn’t making a bigger deal out of things keeping her from shutting her mouth. “But um, anyway. My mom’s alive and on Earth, and I may have told her I was dating a woman because she was judging my sister for being a lesbian.”

“Oh my god, Kara,” Alex mutters, and without turning Kara throws a pillow over her shoulder to shut her up.

On the other end of the line Cat is silent, and Kara shifts anxiously as she waits for a response. “You told your mother you were dating me to defend your sister?”

“No!” Kara exclaims, wincing a little as she reconsiders. “I mean, not exactly. I didn’t give her any names or anything. I just started describing someone that lived across the country and then panicked when she said she’d be interested in meeting her. And you’re the only person I know on the East Coast that already knows my secret and knows me well enough to fake a relationship.”

Oh Rao, maybe Alex was right. Maybe this was a spectacularly terrible idea. Now that she’s said it out loud to Cat rather than just her sister it sounds ridiculous. What the hell was she thinking? Yes they’ve grown a bit closer since Cat left but this is so far beyond that.

“What would meeting her entail?” Cat asks eventually, and Kara sits bolt upright in surprise.

“Well, um, we’d probably fly out there so no one caught wind of the Press Secretary travelling. And then meet for lunch or something? With three of us it wouldn’t look suspicious so public wouldn’t be a problem. Or if dinner worked better we could land in your backyard out of sight and eat there?” Dozens of half formed plans are running through Kara’s mind as she weighs pros and cons. She keeps spiralling until Cat clear her throat and cuts her off. 

“Dinner would perhaps work better. Suspicion or no, the press secretary meeting with a reporter might attract attention.”

“Does this mean you’ll play along?” Kara asks, feeling vaguely faint as she waits for the answer.

“Make no mistake, Supergirl, you  _ will  _ owe me for this. But yes. If anyone deserves a well adjusted family it’s you and that sister of yours.” Cat doesn’t sound annoyed despite her words, and Kara’s had enough practice spotting that particular tone to know it isn’t hiding somewhere beneath the surface.

“Okay, well, you think of what you want in exchange,” Kara says, brow furrowing a bit as she hears Cat’s breath catch. It doesn’t happen again and there’s nothing else so she dismisses it as irrelevant and continues. “I guess I can text you if my mom decides on that dinner?”

“You do that,” Cat agrees. “And Kara? I know it’s tough, thinking you’ve disappointed your mother. Just remember what I’ve told you before.”

_ ‘You are smart and talented and astonishing. And how many more times am I gonna have to tell you this for you to accept who you are? _ ’

The memory flashes through Kara’s mind and she smiles, thanking Rao that no matter what else she has this woman and her constant support in her life. “Thank you, Cat. I will.”

They end the call quickly after that, and Kara flops backwards onto the couch with a grin on her face.

“Well?” Alex asks, tossing the pillow from before back at Kara.

“I guess I have a date?”


End file.
